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Food Safety Matters

Food Safety Matters

By: Food Safety Magazine
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Food Safety Matters is a podcast for food safety professionals hosted by the Food Safety Magazine editorial team – the leading media brand in food safety for over 20 years. Each episode will feature a conversation with a food safety professional sharing their experiences and insights into the important job of safeguarding the world's food supply.2025 Food Safety Magazine Art Food & Wine Natural History Nature & Ecology Science
Episodes
  • Ep. 205. Black and Gabor: Digital Transformation and Emerging International Standards for Food Safety

    Ep. 205. Black and Gabor: Digital Transformation and Emerging International Standards for Food Safety
    Nov 11 2025
    Tom Black is the First Assistant Secretary of the Exports and Veterinary Services Division at the Australian Government's Department of Agriculture, Fisheries, and Forestry. In this role, he is responsible for regulating and facilitating Australia's exports of animal commodities and certified organic products, while also providing the overarching technical food safety framework for both food exports and imports. Tom leads the Australian Government's bilateral and multilateral technical market access negotiations for these commodities and represents Australia in international standard-setting forums, including the Codex Alimentarius Commission. He has over 20 years of experience in government and is currently the Australian delegate to the Codex Alimentarius Commission. He also serves as Chairperson of the Codex Committee on Food Import and Export Inspection and Certification Systems (CCFICS). Gabor Molnar, Ph.D. is an Industrial Development Officer at the United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO), technically leading UNIDO's food safety work. As part of his responsibilities, Dr. Molnar designs and implements food safety capacity-building initiatives, mostly in Asia and Africa. He also represents UNIDO in various global forums, including the Codex Alimentarius Commission. Dr. Molnar is the main organizer of the Vienna Food Safety Forum (VFSF) and specializes in the domain of digitalization for food control and safety systems. Dr. Molnar holds a Ph.D. from Université Laval, as well as multiple master's degrees and certifications. In this episode of Food Safety Matters, we speak with Mr. Black and Dr. Molnar [32:51] about: Emerging trends in international food safety standards and regulations, and how digitalization and AI are informing these trends How regulators are incorporating emerging, global trends into the future of food safety The experiences and responses of developing countries to emerging food safety guidelines and standards that are based on trends driven by industrialized nations, including challenges to and solutions for adoptions CCFIC's focus areas related to food safety guidelines and best practices in the context of an increasingly digitalized world The specifics and importance of UNIDO's work UNIDO's new approach to food safety, "Food Safety 2.0," and how the organization works with countries and industry worldwide to implement this approach The origins and history of the Vienna Food Safety Forum, who participates in the forum, and learnings from the 2025 forum Potential dangers posed and questions raised by the growing application of AI in food safety work A sneak peek at the 2027 Vienna Food Safety Forum. News and Resources News Food Industry Stakeholders Share Input on FDA, USDA's Intent to Define UPFs [3:58] Industry Giants Support New Coalition Aimed at Stopping MAHA-Aligned State Food Additive Bans, More Than 80 Groups Urge Congress Not to Block State Food Additives Bans [14:30] Fast Food Employee Survey Reveals Serious Food Safety Problems, Pressures to Work While Sick [23:07] Study Shows Water Hoses as Reservoirs for Biofilms in Food Processing Facilities [27:58] Resources Vienna Food Safety Forum Vienna Food Safety Forum 2025 Concludes With a Call for Smarter, Inclusive Food Safety Systems Through Digitalization Codex Committee on Food Import and Export Inspection and Certification Systems (CCFICS) We Want to Hear from You! Please send us your questions and suggestions to podcast@food-safety.com
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    1 hr and 27 mins
  • Kris Sollid: What Does Consumer Sentiment Say About the Safety of the U.S. Food Supply?

    Kris Sollid: What Does Consumer Sentiment Say About the Safety of the U.S. Food Supply?
    Oct 30 2025

    Kris Sollid, R.D., is the Senior Director for Research and Consumer Insights at the International Food Information Council (IFIC). A registered dietitian with a passion for improving nutrition science communications, his role at IFIC includes leading consumer research projects, educational resource development, social and traditional media engagement, and written contributions to various consumer, trade, and peer-reviewed publications.

    In this episode of Food Safety Matters, we speak with Kris [1:20] about:

    1. The methodology and key metrics of IFIC's 20th annual "Food and Health Survey," which found that consumer confidence in the safety of the U.S. food supply has hit a 13-year low
    2. Specific beliefs driving consumers' declining confidence in U.S. food safety, including the perception of food corporations prioritizing profits over safety, as well as the perceived inadequacy of federal regulatory oversight of the food supply
    3. Key findings from IFIC's supplemental "Americans' Perceptions of Food Recalls" survey
    4. Whether consumer concerns about rising recall rates reflect reality, based on FDA and USDA recall data
    5. How high-profile recalls associated with severe or far-reaching foodborne illness outbreaks may influence consumer perceptions about the number of recalls
    6. Another IFIC supplemental survey on Americans' perceptions of FDA's Generally Recognized as Safe (GRAS) program, and what the results say about consumer confidence in food safety, as well as their GRAS awareness
    7. The potential influence of U.S. Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.'s (RFK Jr.'s) "Make America Healthy Again" (MAHA) movement on consumer perceptions of food ingredient safety in the U.S. food supply and the federal government's responsibility for oversight.

    Resources

    2025 IFIC Food & Health Survey: A Focus on Food & Nutrition

    IFIC Spotlight Survey: Americans' Perceptions of Food Recalls

    IFIC Spotlight Survey: Americans' Perceptions of the U.S. FDA GRAS Program

    Survey: Confidence in U.S. Food Safety Hits Record Low, Foodborne Pathogens Are Top Concern
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    30 mins
  • Ep. 204. Spink and Fenoff: How to Prevent Food Fraud in Your Supply Chain

    Ep. 204. Spink and Fenoff: How to Prevent Food Fraud in Your Supply Chain
    Oct 28 2025

    John Spink, Ph.D. is the Director and Lead Instructor for the Food Fraud Prevention Academy, as well as an Assistant Professor in the Department of Supply Chain Management (SCM) in the College of Business at Michigan State University (MSU). His food fraud prevention research focuses on policy and strategy to understand and prevent supply chain disruptions and to implement procurement best practices. He is widely published in leading academic journals and has helped lead national and global regulatory and standards activity. More recently, his teaching and research has expanded to supply chain disruption management and procurement best practices.

    Roy Fenoff, Ph.D. is an Associate Professor in the Department of Criminal Justice at The Military College of South Carolina (The Citadel). He is also a Forensic Handwriting and Document Examiner and an expert in forgery detection. Dr. Fenoff specializes in forgery and document fraud, food fraud and protection, and transnational crime.

    In this episode of Food Safety Matters, we speak with Drs. Spink and Fenoff [33:30] about:

    • Their recurring workshop and certificate course for the annual Food Safety Summit on food fraud prevention
    • What makes food fraud an urgent and misunderstood issue
    • The intersections between food safety and food fraud
    • Different ways to check for, catch, and trace food fraud
    • The elements of a comprehensive food fraud vulnerability assessment
    • Focus areas for companies trying to develop a deep enough understanding of their supply chains and end products to prevent food fraud from occurring
    • How to implement a food fraud prevention strategy and management system, which is taught during Drs. Spink and Fenoff's annual Food Safety Summit course, and how course participants respond to and have applied these teachings within their companies
    • What Drs. Spink and Fenoff find both meaningful and challenging about their food fraud prevention and research work.

    News and Resources

    News

    Color Manufacturers Sue West Virginia Over 'Unconstitutional' Food Dye Ban [7:08]

    California Enacts Law Defining Ultra-Processed Foods, Will Ban UPFs in Schools [14:40]

    Reagan-Udall Report Explores Strengthening Cross-Sector Responses to Food Safety Threats [23:09]

    Novel Salmonella Vaccine Shows Promise in Clinical Trial [28:57]

    Resources

    "Ultraprocessed Nation" in the New York Times' October 20, 2025 "The Morning" newsletter

    We Want to Hear from You!
    Please send us your questions and suggestions to podcast@food-safety.com
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    1 hr and 9 mins
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